The present invention broadly relates to the sport of archery. More particularly, the exemplary embodiments of this invention are directed to assist in stabilizing the hand position of an archer on the handle of a bow while shooting. Thus, the present invention may be used, for example, by an archer when target shooting or hunting. As such, the embodiments of the present invention function to stabilize the bow body relative to the hand or arm of the archer to reduce undesirable movement during bow string draw and release thus resulting in a desirable improvement in bow shooting accuracy.
As it is known, many archery bows have a relatively high draw weight (the rearward string force) required to flex the bow body to its fully drawn position, being done to give the bow's arrow more range distance wise and more piercing force at a further distance. When this occurs, the bow body undergoes various torques or moments that are particularly present at the location of the archer's hand that is, at the handle or grip of the bow as being the quasi pivotal support point for the bow to react through, both during pull back and release of the bow string. For example, some of these moments tend to rotate the bow handle toward the palm side of the archer's hand about a vertical axis. Other moments tend to tip the upper bow limb toward the archer about a horizontal axis. Each or the combination of these moments may affect the flight accuracy of the arrow and therefore the accuracy of that archer. Moreover, they can strain or fatigue the bow holding hand or have the archer compensating for the previously described moments by attempting to manually create opposing moments in the hand, wrist, or forearm that can further add to arrow inaccuracy due to the variable moment compensation levels of the archer.
Various apparatus have been developed in an effort to more accurately compensate for these aforementioned undesirable moments at the bow handle that are recognized in the prior art. For example, various bow to arm, wrist, or hand structural supports have been proposed to attach to the bow in order to partially support the arm, wrist, or hand of the archer as against the aforementioned moments.
In other efforts to reduce the effect of the previously described bow moments, some archers opt to hold the bow handle loosely with the fingers and thumb projecting forwardly of the handle with the bow handle being received in the space between the thumb and index finger. Since the bow handle is not gripped tightly, the also aforementioned manual compensatory moments, sometimes termed the after shoot jerk; to resist the bow induced moments are substantially eliminated by the loose grip from the archer's hand to the bow. However, this type of bow grip is not natural and many archers tend to grip the bow handle very tightly as an instinctual reaction when shooting. As a result, the moment forces are applied to the wrist of the archer which can affect the accuracy of the arrow's flight as previously discussed.
Another problem is encountered by archers when they are stalking the prey; the archer typically carries the bow by its handle. Because the bow is gripped, the hand and fingers of the archer can become unduly fatigued or tired over time from simply carrying the bow for extended periods of time, especially when transversing rough terrain. Since the bow hunting activity typically occurs over a significant interval of time, the hand may cramp or otherwise become excessively tired resulting in the accuracy of the bow hunter being diminished when game is finally sighted. Moreover, when hunting in a cold climate, the hand may be more exposed to the environment and bow gripping ability and feel reduced by carrying of the bow by the hand.
Further as previously stated, this issue has been recognized in the prior art, starting with apparatus that operate to brace a portion of the archer's hand, wrist, or forearm, thus in looking at U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,177 to Williams disclosed is an archery bow wrist brace apparatus that uses a “U” shaped loop of rigid material that has a padded outer surface, wherein the free ends of the “U” affix to the bow handle and the semi-circular portion of the “U” rests against the user's forearm. In Williams, the purpose being to strengthen the user's wrist in resisting the moment at the bow handle from bow string pull and release by transferring a vertical moment and a horizontal moment between the user's wrist and the bow handle to the user's forearm for strength and stability. However, with Williams having the drawback of a higher surface area unit loading on the archer's forearm due to the smaller diameter band that is in the “U” shape, potentially causing forearm fatigue and pain for the archer.
Further in this area in U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,001 to Vyprachticky disclosed in an archery bow handgrip that appears similar to a pistol grip with an open conic portion that is adjacent to the archer's forearm that is operable to brace the wrist and forearm to one another, however, with the drawback of the size bulkiness of the pistol grip and conic portion combination structurally. Further, in this same area of structural braces adjacent to a portion of an archer's hand in U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,000 to Torgerson et al., disclosed is an archer's wrist brace in the shape of an “L” that is pivotally adjustable at the bow handle. In Torgerson et al., the “L” portion short extension braces against the archer's arm for stability and to help prevent the archer's arm from getting in the path of the bow string. Torgerson et al., has the same problem as Williams in that there is a higher surface area unit loading as against the archer's arm from the relatively small diameter brace, again potentially causing forearm fatigue and pain for the archer.
Continuing, in this area in U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,838 to Peruski disclosed is an archery aid that is structured to be a form for configuring an archer's hand in a flat open shape with only the thumb and index finger forming a cupped shape around a portion of the bow handle, this is beneficial in some archer's minds as hard hand gripping of a bow is attributable to reduce aim accuracy when the arrow is released as the closed hard grip of the hand on the bow handle causes a reactive “jerk” due to the changing forces surrounding the bow handle at arrow release. In Peruski this is due to the archer's wrist resisting an upward and lateral moment at bow string drawback, wherein at string release this upward and lateral moment are suddenly reduced wherein the archer's wrist instantly reacts oppositely from the above mentioned preloading moments at bow string drawback, thereby affecting arrow aim accuracy. Even though Peruski is a partial solution to this line of archery accuracy thinking, there is the added drawback of increasing difficulty in holding and carrying the bow during non arrow shooting periods.
Another prior art approach is in using a special glove that is affixed to the archer's hand that has some stiffening and supportive capabilities that assist the archer's hand, wrist, and forearm. Starting with U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,856 to Plummer disclosed is a hand/bow interface that provides a low friction interface between the archer's hand and the bow handle for the purpose of reducing the effect of the aforementioned “jerk” in Peruski above by lessening the effect of archer involuntary wrist and hand movement into the bow, thus reducing arrow inaccuracy from this archer hand and wrist movement. Plummer has the drawback of still allowing the high string pullback upward and lateral moments at the bow handle being resisted by the archer's hand and wrist that can affect initial arrow aim accuracy.
Further, in this area in United States patent application publication number US 2007/0022512 A1 to Coulter et al., disclosed is a glove with stiffeners primarily for weightlifting and adding stiffening in the area of the back of the hand while leaving the finger tips free for dexterity, while not specific to archery, Coulter et al., does teach a hand glove with stiffener elements. Also, in the hand stiffening glove arts in U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,108 to Robinson, disclosed is a wrist stiffening bowlers glove, bracing primarily between the palm and forearm while desirably leaving the fingers and the thumb free for grasping the bowling ball, while helping to prevent forwards or backwards flexing of the wrist, being somewhat similar to Coulter et al., in having specialized stiffening for a particular application.
Also, in looking at United States patent application publication number US 2006/0174395 A1 to Mayo disclosed is a glove with special attachments for helping to hold weights such as dumb bells, wherein a removably engagable interface exists between the glove palm and the dumb bell grasping area, whereas various means for the removable engagement are disclosed. Further in this area, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,440 B1 to Jones disclosed is a snow skiing pole handle to ski glove removable engagement used in conjunction with a special skiing pole handle that pivots in relation to the pole portion of the ski pole to lessen the effect of the attachment between the glove and the handle by adding more flexibility to the hand and handle interface, wherein the attachment is a protrusion that is received into a matching concavity. Continuing, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,804 B2 to Sandler disclosed is another ski type glove for attachment to a ski pole handle utilizing a hook and loop fastener between the glove palm and the ski pole handle.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide additional structural features to the hand/bow interface for improving the grip of an archer on the handle of a bow that ultimately results in improved arrow accuracy. There is a further need for apparatus in the hand/bow interface that can help stabilize the hand of the archer as against the various previously described moment forces that result during the increasingly heavy string draw and release of the bow. Further, there is a need for apparatus which can easily and effectively allow the archer to carry the bow during intervals of non use with minimal fatigue especially on the archer's hand, wrist, and arm, wherein the present invention is directed to meeting these needs.